Responsible metrics
Responsible metrics refers to the ethical and appropriate use of citation-based metrics, altmetrics and other quantitative means of evaluating research.
Edge Hill University is a signatory of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). This recognises the need to improve the ways in which researchers and the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated. The full declaration is available on the DORA website.
The University issued a statement on the use of responsible metrics in 2021, which is currently being updated. The statement will draw from several sources, including the Leiden Manifesto and INORMS SCOPE Framework, as well as the DORA community.
When considering metrics, remember:
All metrics have their limitations and should only be used as an addition to expert assessment and peer review. When using any metric, you should be aware of its limitations. You should also be consistent in using one metric rather than mixing and matching.
Not all journals are in all databases and providers have different criteria for including or excluding journals. Journal-based metrics should not be used to evaluate individual outputs.
All research outputs have impact and value, such as datasets, software, exhibitions, podcasts, etc. Focusing on research publications will not measure this broader impact.
Metrics overview
Metrics should be used responsibly.
eLife
The University supports DORA’s statement on the loss of eLife’s Impact Factor and change in indexing status. Research published in eLife will continue to be eligible for the purposes of promotion and tenure.
As a member of the UKRN, we support reforms to research assessment that result in rigorous and transparent research being better recognised and rewarded.
Narrative CVs
Avoiding the use of metrics is a requirement (which is growing) for narrative CVs or resumes for research and innovation (R4RI). A narrative CV is a structured written description of a researcher’s contributions and achievements that reflects a broad range of relevant skills and experiences, more than can often be seen in a traditional academic CV.
They are highly flexible and can be used by a range of people and organisations in a range of contexts within research and innovation (R&I), from applying for funding, to recruitment to a role.
Find out more about narrative CVs (Edge Hill only)Ethics and research integrity
Support on other aspects of carrying out research, such as ethics and research integrity can be found on the Research Office’s SharePoint pages.
Further support
For support in using research metrics or with any other questions about open research, please contact the Open Research Team.